Sales Director

Overview  We are looking for a  Sales Director  for Italy who will report directly to the General Manager of Italy. This role is responsible for defining and executing the national sales strategy to deliver sustainable, profitable growth across all channels in the Italian market. The role has full accountability for net sales performance, customer management, commercial execution and team leadership, ensuring alignment with Marketing, Finance, HR and Operations.

The Sales Director works in close partnership with the Commercial Excellence Director, who acts as a strategic enabler and governance function for Point-of-Sale execution, Revenue Growth Management (RGM) and Category Management. The position represents the senior commercial leader in the country and a key contributor to the overall business strategy.
What you will do

Key Responsibilities   Sales Strategy & Business Planning  Define and implement the national sales strategy for the company’s portfolio in line with local and global business priorities.
Translate corporate, brand and category strategies into actionable commercial plans by channel and customer.
Lead the annual commercial planning cycle, including:
Budget definition
Sales forecast (volume, value and mix)
Target setting and phasing

Ensure balanced growth across top line, margin and profitability, in collaboration with Finance and Commercial Excellence.
Actively contribute to the country leadership team, providing a strong commercial perspective to strategic decisions.
2. Customer & Channel Management   Own and lead relationships with Key Accounts, buying groups, distributors and concessionari.
Lead senior-level negotiations, Joint Business Plans and long-term partnership agreements.
Define and approve pricing architecture, promotional strategy and trade terms in close collaboration with Finance and under RGM guidelines.
Drive channel strategies across:
Modern Trade, Traditional Trade, Specialized channel, Distributors, E-commerce, Other emerging channels.
Ensure consistency and discipline in commercial policies, customer conditions and contractual compliance.
3. Commercial Execution & Commercial Excellence Interface   Partner with the Commercial Excellence Director to implement Revenue Growth Management principles (price-pack architecture, promo effectiveness, mix optimization).
Leverage Category Management insights to support customer selling stories and shelving strategies.
Ensure strong adoption of tools, processes and KPIs defined by Commercial Excellence within the Sales organization.
Act as business owner of execution outcomes, ensuring sales teams deliver against agreed standards.
4. Team Leadership & Talent Development   Lead, coach and develop the national sales organization, including Chains and Buying groups managers, Vet Affairs manager, Key National Account Managers, Area / Regional Sales Managers, Field Sales Teams.
Define clear objectives, priorities and performance expectations aligned with company strategy.
Partner with HR to manage:
Performance evaluation and incentive schemes, Talent development and capability building, Succession planning and organizational design.
Foster a high-performance culture based on accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.
Foster and leverage Vet Science as a key growth driver through the whole sales organization.
5. Cross-Functional Collaboration   Work closely with Marketing on product launches, innovation rollouts, brand activation plans and POS media/activation alignment.
Collaborate with Operations to ensure accurate demand forecasting, optimize service levels and customer satisfaction, and align supply chain priorities with commercial needs.
Partner with Finance to monitor margins, profitability and trade spend; review commercial performance and corrective actions.
Ensure seamless collaboration across all country functions to deliver business objectives.
6. Performance Monitoring & Market Intelligence   Track and analyse sales performance, market share, distribution and customer profitability.
Monitor market trends, consumer behaviours and competitive dynamics.
Lead regular business reviews with customers and internal stakeholders.
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